6:32 PM
The women's basketball tournament will move to a 68-team field starting this season, according to the NCAA.
The women's selection show will be on Sunday, March 13 on the ESPYS. The show moved back to Sunday to accommodate the extra games that will be played on March 16 and 17.
The first and second rounds of the championship will be played on March 18-19, with the last four at-large teams and teams seeding 65 through 68 competing in the opening-round games.
The top 16 seeds will host the first and second round games. Four new opening-round games will be held at four of the 16 sites. The opening round will be held at a neutral site in 2023.
The men's tournament went to 68 teams in 2011, and the first four teams are in the First Four. The men's First Four has been held in Dayton, Ohio, every season except in 2021, when it was held in Indiana due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The chair of the Division I Women's Basketball Committee and director of athletics at Duke said that this was an important step in providing additional championship participation opportunities for women's basketball student-athletes. The expanded championship field will be in play immediately for the upcoming championship and beyond, and the committee was in support of implementing this as soon as possible.
The NCAA women's tournament began in 1982 with 32 teams and grew to 64 teams in 1994.
The NCAA has taken a number of measures regarding women's basketball in recent weeks, including opting to use the March Madness branding for the women's tournament. The gender equity report by the law firm of Kaplan Hecker & Fink was commissioned by the NCAA after it came to light that the men's and women's basketball tournaments were not the same.
The chair of the Division I Women's Basketball Oversight Committee said that the expanded brackets and championship opportunities are paramount. This is a transition year for the tournament, and strong consideration will be given for other improvement areas, including opening-round games taking place at a predetermined site, in order to improve the championship experience in 2023 and beyond.
The Division I Women's Basketball Committee, which now consists of 12 members, approved an updated selection principles and procedures document. The document will reflect the move to 36 at-large teams along with the 32 automatic qualification teams.
The games of the women's tournament will be broadcasted by the channels.
Geno Auriemma thinks the men do it and that's why they moved to 68. If it means more mid-major and small-conference schools have a chance to make the women's NCAA tournament field, that could be a positive.
"Then I'm all for it," said Auriemma, who is the head coach of the University of Connecticut. I'm not sure why the teams from the power conferences should play in the NCAA tournament.
Kim Mulkey, the LSU women's coach, said, "You don't want it to ruin the tournament." I might need that 68th spot this season. It's okay if it's beneficial for the tournament and something should have been done. You don't want it to go to 72 a few years from now.
The four women's regionals this season are in Connecticut, North Carolina, Kansas and Washington. The women's Final Four will be held at Target Center in Minneapolis.
